Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-04-30

Tor though am dead and forgotten. yet shah
i've. There Is no such think as death,
| Dolly, only n change; and as you may per-
LILO learn In time TO come, believe that
oven here that change could under certain
circumstances, be indefinitely postponed"
and here again he broke into one Of his dread
full fits Of coughing.
y There" he said, ~ must go. You have
ni1chest. and my win will be found among
my papers, under the authority of which the
child win be handed over to you. You will
be well paid, Holly, and know that you are
honest; but II you betray my trust, by heaven
ill haunt your
y 1 said nothing, being too bewildered TO
speak
He held up the candle, and looked at his
own face in the glass. It had been beauti-
ful face, but disease had wrecked It, Stood
for tho worms he said aCurious to think
thaA in few hours l shall be stiff and cold
The tourney done, the little game played out
n All me, Holly life Is not worth the trouble Of
flife, d3cept when one Is in love--at least mine
h. not been; but the boy Leo's may DO il he
has the courage and the faith. Good-by, my
friendp and with sudden access Of tender
ness he flung his arm about me and kissed mo
Vathe forehead, and then turned to 60
"Loodhere Vincey,' | said, "if you are as
III as yoNthink, you had better let me fetch a
dqaor."
mo, no, )" he said, earnestly. aPromise me
that you won't. am going to die, and, like
q poisoned rat, | wish TO die alone.n
II don't believe that you are going to do
anything Of the sort,n | answered. He
smiled, and with the word "Remember" on
/ his lips, was gone. As for myself, sat down
\ and rubbed my eyes, wondering IL had been
?snsleep. As this supposition would not bear
4 Investigation, gave it up and began to think
4. that Vincey must have been drinking. l
4 knew that he was, and had been very i'll,
but still it seemed impossible that he could be
in such q condition as TO be able to know for
4 certain that lie would not outlive the night.
Had he been so near dissolution surely he
4 wdtlld scarcely have been able TO walk and
carry heavy iron box with him. The whole
story on reflection, seemed to me utterly in
credible, for was not then old enough to be
aware how many things happen in this world
that The ccpmon sense of the average man
would sef.1tgn as so improbable as to be alb
! ysassly iiEJpssible. This is a fact that have
Y only recenaly mastered. Was it likely that n
4 man would have son years Of age whom
he had never seen since he was a tiny infantl
No Was it likely that be could fortell his
own. death 50 accurately2 No, Was it likely
sha4 lle could trace his pedigree more than
sthieo' centuries before Christ, or that he
would Suddenly confde the absolute guardian
\ ship of his child and leave half his fortune to
a college frieud2 Most certainly not. Clearly,
Vincent was either drunk or mad. That being
so, what did it means and what was in the
sealed iron chest9
The whole thing bsflled and puzzled me to
such an extent that at last could stand it no
= longer, and determined to sleep over it, So
jumped up, and having put the keys and
the letter that Vincey had left away into my
dispatch box, and slowed the iron chest in q
large portmanteau, turned in, and was soon
fast asleep.
As it seemed to me / had only been asleep
for few minutes when was awakened by
somebody calling me. | sat up and rubbed
my eyes; it was broad daylight-S o'clock in
fa&s
"Why what is the matter with you, Johng
I asked of the gyp who waited on Vincey and
myself 'you look as though you had seen G
ghost"
"Ycs, sir. ard so I have" he answered
ohastways I've seen a corpse, which is worse
I've been in to call Mr. Vincey, as usual, an(
there he lies stark and deadp